Learning to delegate will help your business tremendously

It’s hard to delegate. I get it. I really do. When I started my business, I was doing everything myself. Since then, I have learned that delegating is key to growing my business. It has allowed me to focus on areas where I make a difference.

As business owners, we have a certain set of skills. There are things that we are better at than most people, and there are other things we can do, but it’s not our core skills. By delegating tasks that are not our specialty, we free up our time to be more productive in areas where we bring more value.

For example, as an architecture photographer, my core skill is photographing buildings. Because I am a sole proprietor and my name is on the business, another area I focus on is client relationship. Clients expect to communicate with me. So, ideally, I should only be working with clients and shooting. While it’s not realistic, I am taking steps to get closer to that.

During my first year of business, I re-designed my website, I did my taxes, I wrote copy for a brochure, I wrote my own contracts. Now, I use a web designer, an accountant, a copywriter and a lawyer. These are all things that are done better and faster when delegated to someone who specializes in that area.

Delegating means that the job will be done better and faster

You are going to tell me you cannot afford an accountant or a copywriter. It is not true. Let’s say I did my taxes myself. How long do you think it would have taken me? Half a day? A whole day? I paid $250 to have my accountant do my taxes. That time I didn’t spend doing taxes, I spent it on a job or finding clients. It’s worth a lot more than $250. Plus, my accountant might have saved me money and avoided mistakes that could cost me if I get audited.

Delegating means that the job will be done better, faster and not on your time. Take that time and make it count! Start with little things: accounting, contracts, web design are all things that you can easily outsource without being worried. For example, I’m still doing 100% of my retouching, because I’m still afraid of outsourcing that part. But my goal is to eventually delegate that part, as it’s not as interesting to me and it’s taking up a lot of my time.

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I am a commercial architecture photographer living in Toronto. When I am not photographing commercial interiors and exteriors for my clients, I like to travel the world to photograph fine art cityscapes and architecture.